US President proposes $5,000 'Trump dividend' if Republicans hold Congress; cost nearly $1.2 trillion
President Donald Trump announced a $5,000 payment to every adult citizen if his party wins the House and Senate. Vice President JD Vance suggested excluding wealthy Americans from the plan.
US President Donald Trump proposed paying $5,000 ($4,290 euros) to every adult citizen if Republicans retain control of both chambers of Congress. He unveiled the plan at a midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated earlier that funding would come from taxes and spending cuts. The proposal aims to boost Republican campaign funds for the 2026 elections. If Republicans win, the cost reaches nearly $1.2 trillion (€1.03 trillion). That figure exceeds the Pentagon's full 2026 budget request of roughly $961 billion (€825 billion) by approximately $220 billion (€189 billion). The Congressional Budget Office calculated the total based on US Census Bureau data. Around 240 million adult citizens were registered during the 2024 presidential election cycle. Only about 70% of the voting-age population was registered to vote. Giving every adult citizen the payment totals $1.2 trillion. Limiting distribution to only registered voters would reduce the cost to around $870 billion.
